This invention relates to mailer envelope sheets for use alone or for inclusion in a brochure, catalog, booklet, binder or the like.
It has previously been proposed to include return mailer envelopes in brochures, see R. E. Katz U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,696 granted Apr. 18, 1978. However, the ""696 envelope sheet has certain drawbacks. For example, it has an envelope portion which is double thickness, while the remainder of the sheet is a single thickness of paper. For stacking and printing on sheets of paper, it is important that the paper be of uniform thickness to provide regular stacking and to avoid jamming of the copier. In addition, the ""696 patent has exposed adhesive which could be activated under high humidity or damp conditions. With exposed activated adhesive, sheets may stick together and laser or ink jet printers may jam or become contaminated.
Prior art envelope sheet assemblies also fail to adequately protect the envelope during printing, binding and transportation. In prior art assemblies, envelope edges and corners are exposed and can become caught in machinery and bent or torn. Also, the envelope can take on a worn appearance after repeated flipping-through of the article into which it is bound.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an envelope sheet assembly for securing in a brochure, magazine, or the like, which has no exposed adhesive, and which will readily feed through high speed printers without jamming or contamination. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an envelope sheet assembly in which the outside edges and corners of the envelope are protected.
In one illustrative embodiment of the invention, the envelope sheet assembly is formed of two layers and is of substantially uniform thickness for high speed printing, includes an envelope with a length greater than 8xc2xd inches and a width greater than 4 inches for conveniently receiving a standard 8xc2xdxc3x9711 inches or an A-4 sheet folded three times, a pressure sensitive strip forming the closure flap of the envelope, with the pressure sensitive adhesive being covered by a removable strip forming part of said assembly, and with the sheet assembly being provided with perforations for permitting easy removal of said envelope from the rest of said sheet assembly. It is noted that the dimensions given above are for standard size 8xc2xd inches by 11 inches, or A-4, sheets included in brochures, and for brochures or the like having different dimensions, the two layer envelope assembly would be correspondingly modified in its dimensions.
The sheet assembly may also include one or more of the following additional features: (1) an envelope which is approximately 11 inches long; (2) the envelopes may be approximately 4 inches to 5 inches in height; (3) an envelope which is sealed at the bottom and two sides with permanent glue or adhesive, preferably permanent pressure sensitive adhesive; (4) the individual sheets making up the two layer sheet assembly may be formed of fairly lightweight paper so that the sheets may be semi-translucent or semi-transparent; and (5) the inside surfaces of the envelope may be provided with a printed pattern to preclude reading enclosures through the envelope.
The sheet assembly may also frame the envelope at all outside edges of the envelope. Perforations passing through the layers forming an envelope form a cut and tie pattern wherein the ties attach the envelope to the sheet assembly. The layers are held together and the envelope is held together by adhesive coating the outer edge areas of the sheets and extending into an area within the outer edges of the envelope.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and from the accompanying drawings.